What began as a stripped-back acoustic album turned into something Juan Pablo Mazzola never saw coming. With producer Eze Gruber taking the reins, Baby Scream’s Limbo evolved into a colorful mix of power pop, psychedelia, new wave, and ’80s-inspired sounds. Written years before its release and almost kept under wraps, the album also reflects Mazzola’s growing disillusionment with the music industry. We caught up with him to talk about unexpected musical directions, existential crises, and why Limbo nearly never saw the light of day.

Limbo started out as an acoustic album. What made you take it in such a different direction?

Well, it wasn’t me! Lol. It was Eze’s direction, to be honest. This album was originally supposed to be the follow-up to 2023’s Castell de Pop.

The idea was to make an acoustic album, filled with piano and organ arrangements. But then Eze Gruber started adding layers and layers and layers… and voilà! Here we are.

Eze Gruber gradually took over as producer. How did his involvement change the songs?

He’s a monster of a producer and musician, and he’s really into all the genres you can hear on Limbo, like New Wave, ’80s sounds, and perhaps a bit of ’90s indie as well.

So he asked me if I’d be okay with him changing the songs quite drastically, and I gave him a huge YES!

I thought it was something completely new for me. I really didn’t see that one coming.

The album moves between power pop, psychedelia and new wave. Did you set out to mix these styles, or did it happen naturally?

Completely naturally. The more he added, the more I liked it. Never in a million years would I have imagined ending up with an album like this. And since I absolutely adore all those genres, it was all good!

So yeah, you could say it happened pretty naturally.

You wrote these songs in 2022–23, but the album only came out in 2026. Did the songs take on a different meaning during that time?

Kinda, yeah. I’ve told Eze many times that I can barely remember writing some of these songs. They were written late at night, with a completely different approach to songwriting. Somehow, the meaning behind some of them has changed in strange ways over time, while others have stayed pretty much the same.

I wrote a song for my daughter called “Wings of Desire.” Originally, I didn’t even want to include it on the album. I wanted to keep it just for her. But then I realized the lyrics could also be interpreted in a completely different way.

Most of the songs deal with existential crises, one way or another.

You originally had no plans to release Limbo. What made you change your mind?

The only reason we ended up releasing this album is that I didn’t want all of Eze’s work and effort to go unheard or remain hidden. That’s really the only reason.

I didn’t want to release these songs, just like I didn’t want to release Castell de Pop, because I don’t really believe in the music world anymore.

I do believe there are still a few humans out there who appreciate albums as a whole, who actually pay attention to lyrics and messages rather than connections and PR games. But there aren’t enough of them.

What happens is that tons of albums get released every year, only to disappear into the digital maze. They become meaningless, or at least that’s how it feels. Some of these records took years to make, and it’s a shame when all they end up being is something sitting on a streaming platform, accompanied by a few social media posts.

I’ve actually finished two more albums that I’m gonna keep to myself for a while. Maybe I’ll put them out in 2034, lol.

But other than that, music is still music, and nobody can change that.

I’m still incredibly passionate about songwriting, so at the end of the day, I’m really grateful to have an album like this out there.

Listen to the album: Baby Scream – Limbo (feat. Eze Gruber)